The CARS section of the MCAT is designed to test your critical thinking and reading skills. It's difficult for some medical students because it's a skill more commonly used in the humanities than the sciences, especially since the CARS section specifically does not use scientific passages. You have to learn to interpret tone and the main points the author is trying to get across. When you get to the test, use strategies like assessing passages, reading and summarizing passages, and skipping the hardest areas to help you score the best you can.

Become an avid reader. Any kind of reading can help improve your reading and analytical skills, from novels to magazines. However, aim for things that make you think, such as news articles or nonfiction books. The CARS section doesn't focus on science texts, so you really just need to work on your reading skills in a wide variety of genres.[1]

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Analyze what you read as you read it. When you read something, don't just read it. Take time to analyze it. Try to summarize it in your head. Decide what the author's tone was, and point to words in the text that indicate that tone. Then decide on an interpretation of the text. What main points do you think the author is trying to get across?[2]

Also think about things like the source material, whether the author seems reliable, and why you think the author is reliable or not. For instance, if the author is talking about a medical issue but misusing terms, they likely aren't the most reliable source.

Take a critical reading class or workshop. If you haven't already, get some outside help. A class or workshop that helps you learn critical reading skills can help you immensely on the CARS section. If you're at a university, you'll likely find the offer workshops on campus. If not, you can try finding one at your local community college.

Do a practice text everyday. Working on a practice text from the CARS section each day will help familiarize you with the format, tone, and requirements. Plus, you'll be required to read and analyze information over and over again, so you'll be actively building critical thinking skills.[3]

Try increasing the number of passages that you do per day each week. That way, by the 9th week, you'll be working through as many passages as you'll do on the test.[4]

Read 3 sentences and summarize. Go through each text and read the first couple of sentences. Try to summarize them quickly in your head. Assess if the text seems very hard or a bit easier to summarize.[5]

Rate texts according to how hard they are. Quickly assign each text the category of "Do it now," "Do it later," or "Killer." "Do it now" texts are ones you can easily summarize. "Do it later" are a bit more difficult, but likely doable. "Killer" texts are ones you'll probably end up guessing on because of the difficulty level.[6]

Budget your time based on the difficulty of each passage. You have 90 minutes for this part of test and 9 sections to complete. That doesn't mean you should automatically spend 10 minutes on each section. Rather, as you analyze each text, look at the difficulty and the number of questions, and give yourself a bit more time for those with more questions. Try to speed up through the easier texts.[7]

Read through the questions first. Before you start a chosen passage, quickly skim through the questions to get an idea of what you're looking for. That way, you'll have it in your mind while you're reading the passage.[8]

Highlight as you read. As you go through the passage, use the highlighting tool to bring out keywords, main ideas, or anything that indicates the author's tone. Don't go crazy, as it becomes useless if you're not focusing on the main ideas.[9]

Summarize what you've read. At the end of each paragraph, try to summarize it in about 4 words. What's the main idea? What's the author trying to get across? When you get to the end of a passage, write down a few words that encompass the text.[10]

Figure out the tone of each passage. Every time a person writes something, they have some sort of agenda. It may be to inform, to analyze, to satirize, to condone, or to condemn, for instance. Use context clues to figure out what the author is trying to do with the text.[11]

For instance, take these 2 short passages:

"The cat ate the fish without asking. He simply removed it from the plate without asking. The cat is now outside."

"That goofy furball just nicked a piece of fish from my plate! Bad kitty. But I suppose he deserves a bite of fish from time to time."

The tone of these two passages is completely different. The first is dry and to the point. The author obviously doesn't have much affection for the cat, as they just refer to it as "the cat." The second one uses affectionate names. Even though it's slightly chiding, the tone tells you the author feels affection for the cat even when it's being naughty.

Summarize each question. As you come across each question, try to simplify it so you know exactly what it's asking. The questions are usually fairly long, so simplifying it can help you compare the question to the passage more easily.[12]

For instance, the question might like this one:

"Which of the following claims provides the most support from the passage for the 'practice theory'?"

You simplify it to say, "Which statement supports the 'practice theory'?"

Answer the question before looking at the choices. Get your answer ready in your mind before you start going through the answer choices. As you go through the choices, eliminate the obviously wrong ones and then pick the best one you can find.[13]

Skip questions you can't answer. If you're having trouble answering a question, skip it for now. You don't want to waste 10 minutes on 1 question you can't answer when you could be using that time to answer other questions you could get correct.[14]

Take a mental palate cleanser between each passage. Once you finish a passage and are ready to move on to the next one, take just a moment or 2 to clear your head. Try taking a few deep, cleansing breaths, focusing on your breathing. That way, you start the next passage with a clear head.[15]